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"The Streak" is over!!!

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Florida is just as powerful in High School Wrestling as the state of Ohio on a national level. One of the most powerful states at Cadet, Junior and Senior nationals year in and year out is Florida. Congrats Brandon Florida on an outstanding accomplishment!!

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Ohios way tougher than florida.

it may be, but 459 wins is still a helluva accomplishment.  No one in Ky has gotten anywhere near a streak like that.

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I wrestled for 2 years with Armwood High School.  Armwood is the main rival with Brandon (although not in wrestling) so I know a little about the Brandon Wrestling Team.  Yes Ohio is a much better wrestling state than Florida however Brandon was always the class of Florida and was able to compete with any team in the nation.  Maybe they would have beat the Ohio schools maybe not but it would have been a close match.

Brandon was the type of school that if you had a kid that was a good wrestler you moved into the Brandon High School district.  For most of the schools in Florida it would be like St X or Trinity going to play U of L in a football game.

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Who the hell cares if they wrestled St Eds and Grahmn, still a helluva accomplishment.

I totally agree with you it's a helluva accomplishment, but i think traditionalist's point is....if you're that great of a team, put the title on the line and take a shot at one of the really big boys.  Nothing against florida or what coach g said, but on a h.s. level, Ohio has 2 perrenial top 10 teams in the nation.  Florida does not compare to that.  They actually usually have 3 or more top 25 teams, and probably deserve more than that.  Brandon's streak would not have been nearly as long if they had faced St. Eds' in the 80's.  I realize that's a lot to ask for a team to travel that far just to find competition.  but this is one of the most amazing win streaks in all of sports.  You don't want to see an asterisk next to the record saying "*459, but schedule was weak and they always faced a handpick group of cupcakes"

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An extreme achomplishment.  They even opened thier doors to anyone who wanted to challenge them. 

I would say they put it on the line.  Saying anyone who thinks they can beat us come get us at the Beat the Streak tournament.

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I totally agree with you it's a helluva accomplishment, but i think traditionalist's point is....if you're that great of a team, put the title on the line and take a shot at one of the really big boys.  Nothing against florida or what coach g said, but on a h.s. level, Ohio has 2 perrenial top 10 teams in the nation.  Florida does not compare to that.  They actually usually have 3 or more top 25 teams, and probably deserve more than that.  Brandon's streak would not have been nearly as long if they had faced St. Eds' in the 80's.  I realize that's a lot to ask for a team to travel that far just to find competition.  but this is one of the most amazing win streaks in all of sports.  You don't want to see an asterisk next to the record saying "*459, but schedule was weak and they always faced a handpick group of cupcakes"

Why is it Brandon's responsibility to travel to Ohio to duel St. Ed's or Graham, they need to travel to Florida. A champion doesn't need to go around proving their superiority, rather have teams come to them so they can defend their superiority. They had the target on their backs, so why go strut around the country with it in plain sight?

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This is just like saying, oh yeah... that kid's a state champion... but it was a weak weight class. Sorry, but a state champ is still a state champ just like Brandon still holds the win record, whether they wrestled St. Ed's or not.

Maybe they didn't wrestle the best of the best, but they certainly have wrestled Florida's top teams year after year.

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I'll reply to all 3 at once...

Goo - ok, i totally agree...you say "an extreme accomplishment" i say, "a helluva an accomplishment"

130alum - it's not their responsibility, but if "the streak" is truly important to them, and they don't want people questioning how great the streak was, then they could have looked for some slightly better teams.  They don't have to wrestle the #1 in the nation to impress...and honestly, i have NO idea who they did wrestle in that streak.  I am straight up amazed by that streak, it doesn't matter who they wrestled.  But it would be like a HWT champ who retires 50-0.  If at the end of his career (or any point) they do not seek out the best, and avoid the #1 contender, people will always say "yea, they were undefeated, but they didn't fight so and so, or they dodged so and so".  I'm not saying that's right or wrong, i'm just saying that's how people are.

Mathound - i totally agree...but you bring up the point that people will say "yea but it was a weak weight class".  if you look at my original post, i'm just saying i can see traditionalist post.  there has been soooo much talk on this site about travis sullivan not bumping up.  that's just human nature i suppose.  there's the truly great state champs (guys that do not cut weight or dodge anyone....elite state champs) then there are the guys who stay down or bump up because they know they can't beat a kid. 

in no way am i even remotely saying 459 straight dual meet wins is nothing short of AMAZING.  That is incredible.  If a team did that in the weakest region in this state, i would still be in awe. 

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Brandon's streak would not have been nearly as long if they had faced St. Eds' in the 80's.......  schedule was weak and they always faced a handpick group of cupcakes"

There is no way you can say that they would have lost to St. Eds' in the 80s or any other team for that matter.  First of all national rankings for high school kids and teams don't mean a lot.  Its hard enough to do proper rankings for colleges.  There is no one individual (or combination of individuals) that would take the time to watch all the wrestlers in all states and be able to come somewhere close to a true ranking for individuals or teams.  I understand this is your opinion and probably the opinion of many others but it is not based on any real information.  If you found a tournament that both teams entered and it was clear that one team dominated the other then ok there is some reasoning there but that didn't exist.

Also I would like to say that every team faces a few cupcakes.  You don't get a choice of who is in your region, you just go out there and wrestle them.  Each region has some teams that are on different levels from the other teams.  By your philosophy we have to discount what the New England Patriots did because they had to play the Dolphins and the Jets.

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There is no way you can say that they would have lost to St. Eds' in the 80s or any other team for that matter. 

And there is no way you can say they couldn't beat Brandon.  The fact is, St. Ed's was LOADED in the 80's.  But you are right, it is just my opinion..but an opinion that would be shared by many people, including people who ranked St. Ed's #1 in the nation probably 5 out of 10 years in the 80s.

Also I would like to say that every team faces a few cupcakes.  You don't get a choice of who is in your region, you just go out there and wrestle them.  Each region has some teams that are on different levels from the other teams.  By your philosophy we have to discount what the New England Patriots did because they had to play the Dolphins and the Jets.

Absolutely, I agree.  I'm not saying they had to face st. ed's to be considered great.  I'm not saying they had to wrestle 459 straight matches against teams in the top 25.  Read my post, the last line says "That is incredible."  But people do discount what teams/individuals do all the time based on their competition.  "Yes, OSU made it to the BCS title game, but they played in the weak Big 10...or they had an easy schedule".  Don't act like you've never made a comment like this before. 

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I agree the streak is fantastic but it doesnt mean Brandon HS was the best in the country, just that they dominated their opponents for an incredibly long time. They have had numerous individual National Champs, and they are a truly elite program, regardless of where they are located.

Its a great streak, kinda like an ironman award!

I find it really cool that they host a tournament called "Beat the Streak", thats very respectable.

I have heard lots about Brandon not attending the Beast or Walsh Ironman because they didnt want to face the Ohio/PA elite, but its very expensive for HS especially to travel like that and I agree it should be up to the competition to go to them if they want to beat them.

Its kinda like the kid who gets accused of being scared to bump up and wrestle a tougher opponent. Usually the critics are the fans of the heavier kid saying the lighter kid is scared or not tough. But if the heavier kid really wants to prove how tough he is, he should do what it takes to meet the smaller kid, lose a few pounds and meet the kid at his own weight. I rarely hear of a kid getting criticized for not losing a few pounds to wrestle down a weight class to face a tough kid.

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400+ wins in 30+ years.  

    Regardless of who they wrestled they had to field a healthy strong team every week.  Think about all the times just in one year that you were without your top kids in every wt. class.  

    They did this for 34 years, or at least had someone step up to fill that spot.  A longevity record is a huge accomplishment.  When Cal Ripkin broke the consecutive game streak.  No one questioned if he only pinch hit in a few games, or played one inning in the field.  

    They did not set out to break the record it just continued to grow.  They were just trying to be the best they could be.  If someone wanted to dethrone them I'm sure they would not have turned them away.  

30+ years is longer than the average marriage in the united states.  It's longer than most people work at one specific job.  

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The only reason Ohio is any good at wrestling,is my grandfathers family Founded and built up the city of Brandon, FL .After that, they built the wrestling program up in the Brandon area. Then they moved to Ohio (Loveland area) and built the whole state into the power houses of wrestling that they are today.Signed The Brandon Clan of Loveland/Cinncy (area)Via Brandon, FL.

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The only reason Ohio is any good at wrestling,is my grandfathers family Founded and built up the city of Brandon, FL .After that, they built the wrestling program up in the Brandon area. Then they moved to Ohio (Loveland area) and built the whole state into the power houses of wrestling that they are today.Signed The Brandon Clan of Loveland/Cinncy (area)Via Brandon, FL.

I think you may have had the wrong kind of mushrooms on your pizza buddy.  :wink:

but yes this is an accomplishment that will likely never be touched again. Brandon is like this (i hope most of you know who baseball, if not no need to read further); Imagine if Cy Young won every single game that he ever won, consecutively.

Booyah.  :mrgreen:

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The only reason Ohio is any good at wrestling,is my grandfathers family Founded and built up the city of Brandon, FL .After that, they built the wrestling program up in the Brandon area. Then they moved to Ohio (Loveland area) and built the whole state into the power houses of wrestling that they are today.Signed The Brandon Clan of Loveland/Cinncy (area)Via Brandon, FL.

I heard Mike Milkovich retired to Florida but, I'm not sure where.

<<After success as a high school and college wrestler, he entered high school coaching in 1950 at Maple Heights, Ohio, where there was no organized wrestling program. Over 27 years, his teams produced 265 dual meet victories against a mere 25 defeats. They enjoyed 16 undefeated seasons, won 10 state championships, eight runner-up trophies and 21 conference titles. Included were winning streaks of 102 and 59 dual meets.>>

His son, Pat put me in the consolation bracket in 1971. I was pretty upset at losing but, he turned out to be a pretty decent wrestler.

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